Lily sat up on the bed and shoved her hair out of her eyes. She cursed her crutches, cursed the three flights of stairs between her and Maria, cursed—

Something thumped outside. Loud. Like a boulder had hit the grass.

Lily yanked the curtain aside. Not something. Someone. There was someone outside on the ground.

Lily was up and out the door in an instant, swinging faster down the candlelit hall on her crutches than she could ever remember moving.

It couldn’t be. Unless Delilah had gotten mad and pushed her?

Delilah was bad but not that bad—and anyway Maria would’ve fought back, she—

Oh God. Oh God oh God oh God.

Lily shoved the front door open, telling herself it didn’t make sense, she must’ve been hearing things, it was probably just an owl or something, it couldn’t have been—

A girl was lying on the grass, one arm and one leg bent under her. Lily’s scream caught in her throat.

She moved across the lawn as fast as she could, telling herself, It isn’t, it isn’t, it isn’t—

And it wasn’t.

It wasn’t Maria.

It was Delilah.

But not really. This broken thing lying in the dirt, a piece of bone jutting out of her shin, blood pooled on all sides of her—it couldn’t be Delilah.

Lily bent down over the grass and vomited. Then she stood up, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and brushed her wet hair out of her face. She went over to Delilah, tossing her crutches on the way and ignoring the pain as she limped on her bad leg.

Delilah’s head was twisted to one side, her purse still strapped to her arm. Her eyes were wide-open, her pupils huge. Lily waved a hand in front of her face. Delilah didn’t blink.

Lily trembled but didn’t hesitate to press two fingers to her neck. Blood pumped under Delilah’s skin.

Lily closed her eyes, exhaled, and crossed herself. Crickets chirped in the trees.

She looked up at the fourth-floor dormer window. Maria was leaning out of it, looking down at them with her hand clasped over her mouth. Lily signaled for Maria to come downstairs, holding a finger to her lips. Maria’s scream had been bad enough. They had to stay absolutely silent now.

Maria backed away from the open window. Lily could see her arm shaking even from four stories down.

An image entered Lily’s mind.

Maria and Delilah, struggling at the window. Delilah, pushing. Maria, pushing back. Pushing just a little too far.

No.

Lily didn’t have any idea what had happened.

She didn’t want to know. It didn’t matter now.

Lily had a job to do. This had to look like an accident.